Mobile and EADS have stood together for six years in the battle for the U.S. Air Force tanker contract.

Though they didn't win the war, they forged a strong alliance. This southern city and the French folks work well together.

Now what? We know EADS can build a great plane. How about a bridge?

Just a thought.

Today's Press-Register editorial:

Mobile should keep ties to EADS

THE EUROPEAN Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.'s decision not to appeal the tanker contract award was disappointing, but it cannot be faulted. The company had to make a hard choice based on economics, after doing everything it could have done to win the business that would have meant so much to Mobile.

This region respects that decision and thanks EADS for its commitment to a project that would have transformed the company as well as the Gulf Coast economy. Because EADS did not pull out when its former partner, Northrop Grumman, chose not to continue, Mobile is in an even better position to capitalize on the attention it gained from the aerospace industry.

EADS devoted six years and $200 million to the Air Force tanker project, partnering with civic and community leaders on the coast as well as politicians from City Hall to the Statehouse.

In the process, both EADS and Mobile proved themselves forces to be reckoned with in this country and abroad. They worked effectively together in an alliance that needs to be preserved.

Already culturally connected with France, Mobile has forged powerful business ties with the French-based corporation. Whenever EADS officials think about doing business in the United States, we want them to think about Mobile first.

The local and state leaders who gathered economic incentives and lobbied as one remain in place. Brookley Aeroplex and all of its assets are more well-known worldwide than ever.

Airbus Chief Executive Tom Enders said the company still intends to expand in the United States. The Gulf Coast is now in the best position to draw that new business.

The Airbus 330 tanker -- however big a project -- is not the only opportunity out there. Mayor Sam Jones is already dropping hints about another, unnamed company showing interest in Brookley Aeroplex. The mayor isn't sitting around sulking over the loss of the tanker contract, and neither should anyone else.

A piece of technology that no one has thought of yet might, in a few years, find a home in Mobile. It could be an engine part, a weapons gadget or a whole new airplane. The tanker contest has taught Mobile to think big.

Another legacy of the tanker contest has been greater attention to the regional nature of the Gulf Coast economy.

EADS would have brought new jobs and new business not only to Mobile, but also to south Mississippi and northwest Florida along the Interstate 10 corridor.

Business leaders and elected officials in the three states worked together. Those partnerships can be the foundation of lasting relationships for the benefit of all.